When Bayern Munich came to the Emirates Stadium last season, Arsenal missed the opportunity to strike a blow against a side that felt there for the taking.
It’s no mean feat to score two goals against a side as decorated as Bayern but, on the night, the Gunners were a little nervous, a touch naïve and lacking the sort of ruthlessness that would have put the result beyond even the visitors. A 2-2 draw felt a little like a defeat.
Against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, however, there was to be no repeat. Mikel Arteta’s men were not to be fooled twice.
The nervousness was gone and, in its place, a steely determination to get the job done. It’s not easy to create good chances against a side of PSG’s calibre and it’s even harder to take them but the Gunners did a superb job of both while, at the other end, restricting the visitors to scraps.
That’s not to say it was the complete performance because there were things we could have done better but, where we needed to be, we were efficient and laser-focussed.
If you were looking for signs that we had learned the lessons from April, they were there in abundance.
If recent years have shown us anything it’s that going deep into a tournament requires something quite distinct from league football. That Manchester City have only won the Champions League once, despite all their domestic domination, is testament to just that.
They have been slow to learn that lesson but, hopefully, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal will not be.
At times in this campaign, pragmatism and efficiency in front of goal have won us points that looked unlikely and I think we saw glimpses of that again last night. The physical, occasionally cynical Arsenal we have seen in the league this season has served us well in our pursuit of points and our focus on maximising set pieces has brought a huge boon too. All of those elements were deployed against PSG and proved just as effective.
Luiz Enrique’s squad is not what you would describe as particularly imposing from a physical perspective and, while they were tidy in possession, they weren’t able to make inroads into our midfield or back line. In fact, Thomas Partey in the heart of midfield had arguably his best game of the season, mopping up on the one hand and marauding forward on the other.
Our front line, meanwhile, was razor sharp. Kai Havertz is fast becoming indispensable to this side and has long ago cast off the mantle of flop. He scores goals, he wins duels, he links the play and he now has six goals in his last six matches at the Emirates. It’s the sort of efficiency up front that is vital to winning football matches and especially so in winning ties.
Bukayo Saka produces with such regularity now that it hardly seems worth mentioning but, as the weeks and months go by, his game just gets better. He doesn’t drift in and out, he doesn’t pop up from the periphery, he is involved at all times and delivers like prime Thierry Henry when needed.
A quick mention also for Gabriel Martinelli who, having got a goal and a few assists under his belt, is at last offering the sort of threat from the left that we have missed. That he didn’t come away with a goal from two shots on target will be the only bone of contention for him. A pinch of the consistency Saka has found will do his game wonders.
When the fixture list was announced, this looked set to be a real acid test for this Arsenal side. PSG have been hanging around the upper echelons of European football for some time now and boast a side stuffed full of talent. This is the sort of fixture you need to win if you’re going to go all the way in European competition.
Not only did Arsenal do that, they made PSG look ordinary at times. No side can dominate for 90 minutes in fixtures like these but, when we were on top, we came away with something to show for it. That’s smart football, that’s winning football.
There will be more tests to come for Arteta and Arsenal this season but they have certainly sailed over the hurdle they stumbled at last time around. Now for the rest of the race.
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